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James considered quitting in those dark days, but has bounced back to become one of the Welsh stars of the Games.

Last Saturday night, James produced a stunning silver in the keirin and tonight she emulated that in the women's sprint to complete the fantastic fairytale.

What's more, you will be pushed to meet a more humble sports star.

Here is the remarkable Becky James story.

Becky James (Image: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

The early days

Starting in the sport

James was introduced to cycling aged 11.

She was also a keen horse rider, competing in show jumping.

She quit horse riding to focus on cycling as her career blossomed.

James started her journey with Abergavenny Road Club.

Family affair

Becky comes from a loving, tight-knit and large family.

Becky’s parents David and Christine have been in Rio to follow the success with other members of the James family.

This was the first time Becky's mum had been on a long-haul flight.

Becky James celebrates with friends, family and George North

Cycling runs in this talented family, with the proud parents spending many hours driving the siblings around to all parts of the country for different races.

James, in fact, has five siblings. Her elder sister Rachel is a tandem pilot rider in Britain’s para-cycling squad, her younger sister Ffion is a mountain bike rider on the development programme and Megan, another younger sister, was crowned British junior cross-country champion in 2014. Her brother Gareth is also a keen cyclist.

Her fourth sister, Bethan, was born with fluid on the brain and needs 24-hour care.

Promising youngster

Anna Meares of Australia (L) holds the hand of Becky James of Wales (R) after their Womens Sprint race final at the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games on October 7, 2010 (Image: Phil Walter/Getty Images)

It would be an understatement to describe Becky as a teenage sensation.

James won two junior world titles, in the sprint and keirin in 2009 and made the transition onto the senior stage in the Commonwealth Games a year later in Delhi as an 18-year-old where she challenged Australian legend Anna Meares, who has become a firm friend of the James family.

She burst onto the scene with a silver and bronze behind Mears to announce her to the Welsh sporting public as a nominee for the BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year. Swimmer Jazz Carlin also won two medals in India and was on the nominees’ list as well.

It was the start of a strong friendship between the two young Welsh sports stars and their careers have mirrored each other after both missed out on London 2012.

The pair now have claimed two medals each, both silver, at one Olympics with the last Welsh competitor to achieve this multi-medal feat at one Games being equestrian expert Richard Meade when he claimed double gold in Munich in 1972.

Cyclist Becky James and swimmer Jazz Carlin during a Wales on Sunday photoshoot in 2011

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Olympic disappointment

Becky was only a reserve for the London 2012 Olympics.

There was always going to be a problem for the Welsh star representing Team GB at London 2012. And that was fellow British rider Vicky Pendleton.

The GB rider was defending champion going into the home Games and there was only one rider per nation in the sprint and keirin events with Pendleton securing both individual spots and ending up winning gold and silver.

There was also no room in the team sprint for the Welsh woman with Jessica Varnish preferred to ride alongside Pendleton. James would have to wait for her Olympic debut.

World redemption

Becky James with her 2013 world championships gold

James proved herself on the global stage just seven months after London 2012 by creating a little bit of history in the World Championships in Minsk.

The ‘Abergavenny Arrow’ became the first British rider to win four medals at one World Championships which included two golds in the individual sprint and keirin event and two further bronze.

It was a truly successful competition for Welsh cyclists in Belarus, with the then-Cardiff teenager Elinor Barker, still doing her A-levels at Llanishen High, celebrating gold with the team pursuit squad.

Injury setback

During the early part of 2014, James had struggled with a knee injury, although that didn’t stop her picking up two bronze medals at the World Championships in Calli, Columbia with third places in the team sprint and keirin.

After a period of recovery the knee issue had not been resolved and James was to go under the knife and advised to take a complete break from the sport.

This meant the patriotic Welsh woman could not compete for her nation in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. That would have been devastating.

James also had keyhole surgery on a chronic shoulder injury in October 2014.

Becky didn’t ride a bike for four-and-a-half months. She has admitted there was a lot of tears and she even considered quitting as she almost missed the 2015 World Championships in Paris.

Cancer scare

It was not just illness Becky had to cope with during her horrendous 2014.

After a routine cervical smear test, James met a nurse who had studied the results.

James had developed abnormal pre-cancerous cells and the nurse described her condition in a blunt way about the contrasting stages of potentially cancerous cells. James was on the wrong end of the scale and the stage was described as ‘severe’.

James, understandably, was overwhelmed. She had to go into hospital for a minor operation to remove the pre-cancerous cells.

Becky had a week at home recovering before eventually going out on her bike on the road with her mum.

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Road to Recovery

The long, hard road included making use of the Intensive Rehabilitation Unit at Bisham Abbey, while James has maintained her fitness by aqua jogging.

It was a tentative process with her first track session in April 2015. It was a 20-minute stint before her work was eventually built up with her first competition in Derby in August 2015.

That was 18 months after she had last competed in that world championships in Columbia in February 2014. The results weren’t outstanding but they were never going to be - that wasn’t important. Becky was back where she felt most comfortable.

James had admitted she was concerned about returning to a bike, but she worked with British Cycling psychologist Ruth Anderson.

Shane Sutton (Image: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

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Shane Sutton, the no-nonsense former British Cycling technical director, who quit in April, after being suspended by the sporting body amid claims of sexism and discrimination towards elite cyclists, allegations he denies, also played a pivotal role in James’ rehabilitation.

James said last month: “Shane was the one who always believed in me getting back.

“He said to me: ‘You don’t have to do this. You have already achieved a lot and you can be happy with what you’ve done’.

“That gave me that bit extra to want to come back. He was the one who could see it, when I couldn’t. He kept me on the programme, kept me working hard. He’s always been brutally honest with me, but the truth is better than lies."

The recovery was completed by her brilliant bronze in the women’s keirin at the World Champs.

Becky was back. And Rio has proved that.

Great Britain's Becky James with her bronze medal at the 2016 World Championships (Image: Adam Davy/PA Wire)